The subject matter disclosed herein relates to turbine engines, and more particularly to a method for transferring fuel for a turbine liquid fuel system.
For large gas turbines, a combustion system typically employs multiple cans that are arranged circumferentially, with combustible fuel being delivered to each can for combustion. In order to produce sufficient combustion, the liquid fuel is often injected through a nozzle with atomization air assistance. If the atomization air is not used, the nozzle itself will be the atomizer. In this case, the combustion efficiency is related to the nozzle tip pressure drop. To ensure a high nozzle tip pressure drop, the combustion system typically employs two different fuel circuits, such as a pilot and a main, for example, because the fuel flow range from light off to base load is rather large. For dual orifice liquid fuel combustion systems, it is desirable to maintain a high tip pressure drop for each nozzle in the combustion system. Often, this requirement can be a challenge when the system transfers oil from the pilot circuit to the main circuit. During the transfer, some of the main nozzles do not have a pressure drop due to gravity head, which may hinder fuel flow.